TU 2010

Guiding Principles

Towson University will pursue selected directions in support of our mission and vision for the future. Our guiding principles are:

Create and serve…
We will respond to the higher education needs of the region and greater metropolitan area. We will also continually work with business, nonprofit and government operations to develop programs that will be responsive to current needs, future needs and create opportunities for partnering with the community to address them.

An engine of change…
Through university centers and institutes we will monitor and analyze academic, social and economic trends and leverage university expertise and resources. We will respond to changes in the broader environment and drive appropriate and responsive change as warranted.

Responsible growth…
Enrollment growth will be blended with physical and cultural change and growth. As enrollment growth takes place, we will create physical changes that will enable the university to respond to student needs. As size and physical change occurs, we will assure continued excellence in academic capabilities and a university culture that responds in supportive ways to an ever-changing external environment.

Strength within…
We will prepare to serve a changing external environment by strengthening and building bridges in our internal environment to create a more responsive and rapidly adaptable university. Through the blending of expertise, programs, resources and cultures, we will strengthen our ability to be an engine for change and to respond to an ever-evolving external environment.

We recognize that athletics, both intramural and intercollegiate, are key components to the success of our university goals. Athletics will be an integral part of the university culture, to enhance the experience of all students, and as a key partner externally in presenting Towson University.

An institution of unlimited boundaries…
While on-campus physical change and growth takes place, we will expand university boundaries. Through regional centers of education and expertise, we will partner with education colleagues at all levels, partner with government, business, and nonprofit organizations, embrace existing and new forms of distance learning and, through life-long and creative forms of learning, we will achieve goals through efforts far beyond our physical campus.

A timeless experience
We will continue to support an academic and overall campus culture and environment that will provide an undergraduate education and outcomes based upon our core values and beliefs. We will also create a future for graduates that will encourage them to remain partners with, and supporters of, Towson University. Relying on our campus without boundaries approach, we will be prepared to offer our graduates opportunities through graduate education, non-credit experiences, real-life experiences and on- and off-campus life-long learning opportunities as part of their unique educational path.

A sharing partner…
We will assure that our academic and technical expertise is adaptable to changing environment and work force needs and that we become a destination for the export of expertise and the development of partnerships with all education, social and economic elements of our broader environment. Through these partnerships we will become an engine to drive work force development.

Diverse and Inclusive…
Our diversity initiatives will result in a learning community which mirrors the face of the population surrounding us in our region and state. As new campus community members join us from various cultural, racial and ethnic groups, we will infuse the curriculum and environment with culturally responsive actions to foster broadened perspectives and high achievement for all members of our community.

Able to meet the future…
As we examine our assumptions about the near and distant future, all actions, academic, cultural and physical will be driven by the desire to create a productive future for our students, our region and the metropolitan area. We will position the university to have adequate flexibility and capability to respond to opportunities.

Towson University, as the state’s Metropolitan University, focuses on providing highly developed educational experiences and community service through

a broad range of intellectual opportunities to a diverse student body at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The academic programs and services offered through the university provide a core quality environment for students to acquire the intellectual and social preparation to achieve their potential as contributing leaders and citizens of the work force and a complex global society. Faculty, students, and staff serve

the region through research and professional outreach that specifically responds to the state’s socioeconomic and cultural needs and aspirations.